Beautiful
by youreconfusingme
Summary: Miss Granger has doubts, yes, but it doesn't mean that she should stop living her life. After all, she is beautiful - no matter what they say.


**Beautiful**

**Author's Note: **I got the idea for this from the video my best friend made for me a couple of years ago about Hermione Granger. So, this is for Jem – thanks for being an awesome friend! :D –HÜ

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters – Jo Rowling does. Too bad. Oh, and the video where this story was based was created by AshleyJ0804. Check out her videos on YouTube.

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_Every day, is so wonderful  
And suddenly, it's hard to breathe…_

It was getting to be a rough day for Hermione Granger. The Potions class had been torturous with Professor Snape breathing down their necks every time he stopped by their cauldrons to see if they were brewing the potions right. And just as she went to watch the Gryffindor team practice on the Quidditch field, she had a pretty bad (and quite embarrassing, in fact) confrontation with the Slytherin Quidditch team. Malfoy had called her a "Mudblood," which, according to Ron, Hagrid, and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was a really offensive term used to call wizards who were of Muggle parentage.

Hermione trudged up the marble staircase, slowly making her way to the Gryffindor tower. _Why is it always like this? Every time I try to be myself in front of other people, they always hate me. Will anything ever change for me? _Hermione thought dejectedly. _Everybody else seems to have friends of their own. Harry and Ron have other friends, too. But me? I'm still a nobody. My only friends here are Harry, Ron, the Weasleys, and Hagrid. No one else likes me._

Malfoy even went as far as calling her a Mudblood. No one apart from her few close friends seemed to like Hermione Granger at all. Hermione thought that she had finally moved on from "the friendless state" when she got her letter from Hogwarts. But even magic could not make everything better. If it weren't for the fact that she was magical and it would be a waste not to develop her talents further, Hermione would have begged her parents to home school her already. Sure, she was well-liked by her teachers, and Ron and Harry liked her for who she was, but…it was still somehow different. To have other friends and to hang out with other people other than The Boy Who Lived and his sidekick…that was the life that Hermione secretly wanted to have at Hogwarts.

_Now and then I get insecure  
From all the fame, I'm so ashamed…_

As Hermione rounded the corner up to another staircase, she had not realized that Nearly Headless Nick was walking toward her. It was too late before Hermione realized this—it was like being plunged into ice cold water. She totally went through Nearly Headless Nick's floating body!

"Oh, my goodness!" She exclaimed in shock. Nearly Headless Nick came out of his reverie and looked behind him to see who had made the noise.

"Miss Granger…did you just pass through my body?" he asked her.

Hermione turned and looked at Nick. "Yes, sir," she murmured as a shiver went down her spine.

"I am very deeply sorry for that. I should have gotten out of the way," Nick said sympathetically.

"No, no…it's fine, Nick. It's my fault, too. I should have looked at where I was going." Hermione laughed faintly.

"I daresay that we were both so deep into our thoughts that we had not realized where we were going," said Nick. He smiled down at her. "What seems to be troubling you, Miss Granger?"

Hermione was so touched by his concern. She had been looking for the right person to confide her doubts with. Now, Nearly Headless Nick was offering to listen to her. "Do you mind listening to me? I know that you must have a lot of things to do but…well, I just need an ear right now," she said softly.

"I don't mind at all!" said Nick. In truth, he was worrying about what Peeves might do today to wreak havoc again. It wasn't like he had a lot to do.

"Well…OK, then." Hermione sat down on a bench against the wall. The corridor was empty except for the two of them. She assumed everyone was outside, enjoying the sun and hanging out with friends.

"It's just that…I've been thinking a lot lately. Everyone here seems to dislike me so much. Well, apart from my friends. And mind you, I don't have a lot of friends here. I never had many friends even before I went here. It's like, everywhere I go people seem to dislike me so much. I don't know what I did." Hermione put her head in her hands.

Nick looked at her sympathetically. He smiled faintly. "Miss Granger, if you would not flinch when I pat your head right now, I would." Hermione took her head out of her hands and smiled. She liked Nick's sense of humor.

"But I would not think that I am invaluable, if I were you. Even if people seem to have it against you all the time, it does not mean that you should let them shape up who you are. You want to know a secret?" he said conspiratorially.

"What is it?" Hermione leaned in eagerly.

"You would be truly happy not because you have a lot of friends who adore you, but because you have learned to love and appreciate yourself even before others did," said Nick, a faint grin in his transparent face. "Miss Granger, if you want affirmation from others before you accept yourself for who you are then I am afraid that you cannot possibly live contentedly. It is good to have affirmation, yes, but it does not mean that you are nothing if people do not accept you. You are beautiful, Miss Granger—you really are. You just have to realize it yourself."

_I am beautiful no matter what they say  
Words can't bring me down  
I am beautiful in every single way  
Yes, words can't bring me down, oh no  
So don't you bring me down today_

Hermione thought about this for a moment. _Nick is right. I should not let other people put me down. I have strengths that others do not have. I have weaknesses that others do not have. I am not like anybody else, and not a lot of people seem to like me, but it doesn't mean that I should stop living._

She looked up at Nick who was smiling down at her. "Thanks, Nick," was all she could say. But she had a feeling that Nick understood just how much grateful she was for his ear and advice. Hermione jumped up with a big smile on her face. "I'll see you around!" She waved and headed downstairs to find her friends.

_You are beautiful no matter what they say  
Words can't bring you down  
You are beautiful in every single way  
Yes, words can't bring you down, oh no  
So don't you bring me down today..._

Nearly Headless Nick smiled and floated away in the opposite direction. _Finally_—he had done something productive with his day. He had not felt this good since he last celebrated his birthday.

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**A/N (again!): **Hey, guys! I absolutely enjoyed writing this story. Thanks so much for reading. Please review! Here is the link to AshleyJ0804's video with the same title:

.com/watch?v=FjM9xhrwzoE

Watch this video, too! My story goes with it. :) –HÜ

**For Jem: **Hope you liked it. Thank you, again, for making the video for me. It boosted up my self confidence. ILY!


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